RLJE Films
| foundation = | location = Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, United StatesImage-entertainment.com | key_people = Miguel Penella (CEO) Drew Wilson (CFO) Bill Bromiley (CAO) | industry = Entertainment | parent = AMC Networks Robert L. Johnson (17%) | products = DVD, Blu-ray, digital video, CD, digital audio, motion picture studio | homepage = }} RLJE Films (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American independent licensee, producer and distributor of entertainment programming and film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450 programs internationally via sublicense agreements. For many of its titles, Image has exclusive audio and broadcast rights as well as digital download rights to approximately 2,100 video programs and over 400 audio programs containing more than 6,000 tracks. The company is headquartered in Chatsworth, California. History Founded in 1981 as a public company, Image began as a distributor of LaserDiscs, whose sound and picture quality surpassed that of VHS and Beta, the dominant tape formats of the time. Image successfully secured exclusive output deals with major studios such as Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and the Walt Disney Company and grew to become the dominant distributor of the format. As the 1990s came to a close and Laserdiscs gave way to DVDs, Image re-focused on the fledgling format that quickly came to dominate the home video marketplace. While studios were busy managing the transition from VHS to DVD, Image began to acquire DVD rights to long-form music concert programs, television programming, foreign films and a broad array of special interest programming, all of which were being ignored by the major studios and music labels. In 2005, Image signed a distribution deal with Bandai Visual to distribute select anime titles under the Honneamise label. The deal ended in March 2007, when Bandai Visual switched over to Geneon USA. Image continued to work with its long term partner, Criterion Collection, as well as hundreds of independent content producers and rights holders to bring products to the marketplace. By the 10th anniversary of the DVD, Image has once again established itself as a dominant distributor of independently produced programs. In 2008, Image began to expand its release schedule to include feature films. On August 31, 2010, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment partnered with Image Entertainment in a multi-year agreement, marketing and distributing some DVDs and Blu-rays by Image. Image retains its own sales and marketing."BusinessWire" Image Entertainment Partners with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment businesswire.com, Retrieved on January 9, 2013 In May 2011, Image entered into an in-house film and television production agreement. Its latest theatrical film is 44 Inch Chest. Most recently, the company announced the pick-up of The Tall Man, starring Jessica Biel. On April 2, 2012, it was announced that RLJ Acquisition, Inc. had entered into an agreement to acquire Image Entertainment as well as Acorn Media and plan to merge the two companies. The two companies operate under the banner "RLJ Entertainment". The company was then renamed RLJ Entertainment, before being renamed to RLJE Films. On July 30, 2018, AMC Networks reached a definitive agreement to acquire RLJ Entertainment where AMC would pay $59 million for the remaining RLJE shares not owned by AMC or Robert L. Johnson. The transaction was approved by RLJ Entertainment's stockholders on October 31, and AMC Networks completed the acquisition on November 1. RLJ Entertainment became a privately-owned subsidiary of AMC Networks, with Johnson and his affiliates owning a 17% stake. Selected releases Feature films *''The Air I Breathe'' *''Arizona'' *''Autumn Hearts'' *''Bad Taste'' *''Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead'' * Chillerama *''Beneath The Darkness'' *''Born To Ride'' *''Color of Freedom'' *''The Colony'' *''The Commitments'' *''Devil's Knot'' *''The Distance'' *''Dreamscape'' *''Ernest'' movies: **''Ernest Goes to Africa'' (part of Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 2, Ernest Triple Feature, and "Ultimate Ernest Collection") **''Ernest Goes to School'' (part of Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 2 and Ernest Triple Feature) **''Ernest in the Army'' (part of Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 1, Ernest Triple Feature, and "Ultimate Ernest Collection") **''Ernest Rides Again'' (part of Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 1) **''Slam Dunk Ernest'' (part of Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 2) **''Knowhutimean? Hey Vern, It's My Family Album'' (part of "Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 2" and "Ultimate Ernest Collection") **''Your World As I See It'' (part of "Ultimate Ernest Collection") *''Far North'' *''Freeway Killer'' *''Hate Crime'' *''Home Sweet Home''Watchimage.com *''The Incredible Hulk Returns'' (paired with The Trial of the Incredible Hulk) *''Joan of Arc'' (the complete unedited version, currently out-of-print in the U.S.) *''Just Another Day'' *''My Name is Bruce'' *''Nobody Gets Out Alive'' *''Passion Play'' *''The Perfect Game'' *''Plaguers'' *''The Puppetoon Movie'' *''Re-Cycle'' *''The Secret'' *''Shivers'' *''Speed-Dating'' *''Starbomb'' *''Stuck'' *''Suburban Girl'' *''Then She Found Me'' *''Tokarev'' *''Tracey Fragments'' *''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'' (paired with The Incredible Hulk Returns) *''Undead or Alive'' *''Winnie Mandela'' *''Terminal'' Sony Pictures releases *''88 Minutes'' *''About Last Night...'' *''Absence of Malice'' *''Adaptation'' *''Against All Odds'' *''The Age of Innocence'' *''...And Justice for All'' *''Apt Pupil'' *''Arlington Road'' *''Armed and Dangerous'' *''Awakenings'' *''Baby Geniuses'' *''The Big Hit'' *''Blind Date'' *''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' *''California Suite'' *''Chances Are'' *''The China Syndrome'' *''Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'' *''Darkness Falls'' *''Desperate Measures'' *''Dick'' *''Eye of the Beholder'' *''The Fisher King'' *''Gattaca'' *''Half Past Dead'' *''Hideaway'' *''The Hollywood Knights'' *''Hush'' *''I Love You to Death'' *''Jagged Edge'' *''Jawbreaker'' *''Johnny Mnemonic'' *''The Medallion'' *''Money Train'' *''Nowhere to Run'' *''Peggy Sue Got Married'' *''Quicksilver'' *''Random Hearts'' *''Red Rock West'' *''See No Evil, Hear No Evil'' *''Short Circuit'' *''Short Circuit 2'' *''Sleepwalkers'' *''A Soldier's Story'' *''St. Elmo's Fire'' *''Stealing Harvard'' *''Stir Crazy'' *''Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2'' *''The Tailor of Panama'' *''To Die For'' *''Tomcats'' *''The Toy'' *''Under Suspicion'' *''White Water Summer'' Special interest *The Criterion Collection *IMAX programming Television series *''The Adventures of Black Beauty'' *''Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' *''Combat!'' *''Conan the Adventurer'' *''Crime Story'' *''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' *''Father Murphy'' *''Friday: The Animated Series'' *''Ghost Hunters'' *''Hearts Afire'' *''I Spy'' *''Naked City'' *''The New Adventures of Black Beauty'' *''Nowhere Man'' *''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' *''The Prisoner'' *''Rags to Riches'' *''Saved by the Bell: The College Years'' *''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' *''Scruff'' *''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World'' *''Sledge Hammer!'' *''Starhunter'' *''TekWar'' *''Thriller'' *''The Twilight Zone'' (1959) *''The Twilight Zone'' (1985) *''Thumbs!'' Stand-up comedy *''Adam Hunter: Dysfunctional'' *''Al Ducharme: Spineless And Lovin' It'' *''Artie Lange: It's The Whiskey Talkin''' *''Bill Burr: Why Do I Do This?'' *''Bill Engvall: Here's Your Sign: Live!'' *''Bill Maher: I'm Swiss'' *''Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious'' *''Doug Stanhope: No Refunds'' *''Drew Hastings: Irked & Miffed'' *''Eddie Griffin: Voodoo'' *''Eddie Izzard: We Know Where You Live'' *''Finesse Mitchell: Snap Famous'' *''Gabriel Iglesias: Hot And Fluffy'' *''Gilbert Gottfried: Dirty Jokes'' *''Howie Mandel: The First Special'' *''Jamie Foxx: I Might Need Security'' *''Jamie Foxx: Unleashed: Lost Stolen, And Leaked!'' *''Jamie Kennedy: Unwashed'' *''Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself'' *''Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity'' *''Jeff Dunham: A Very Special Christmas Special'' *''Jeff Foxworthy: You Might Be A Redneck If...And Check Your Neck'' *''Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale'' *''Jimmy Dore: Citizen Jimmy'' *''Joe Rogan: Live'' *''John Pinette: I'm Starvin'!'' *''John Witherspoon: You Got To Coordinate'' *''Katt Williams: Live'' *''Kevin Downey, Jr.: I'm Not Gay, But Don't Stop'' *''Kyle Cease: Weirder. Blacker. Dimpler'' *''Larry The Cable Guy: Git-R-Done'' *''Michael Winslow: Comedy Sound Slapdown!'' *''Mike Marino: New Jersey's Bad Boy Of Comedy'' *''Pablo Francisco: Ouch! Live From San Jose'' *''Paul Mooney: Know Your History: Jesus Was Black; So Was Cleopatra'' *''The Pee-Wee Herman Show: Live from the Sunset Strip's Roxy Theatre'' *''Richard Lewis: Concerts From Hell'' *''Rita Rudner: Live From Las Vegas'' *''Ron White: They Call Me Tater Salad'' *''Ron White: You Can't Fix Stupid'' *''Steve Byrne: Happy Hour'' *''Steven Wright: When The Leaves Blow Away'' *''Tommy Tiernan: Something Mental'' *''Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired'' Music programs *''Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival'' *''Cher: The Farewell Tour'' *''Chicago And Earth, Wind & Fire: Live at The Greek'' *''Daryl Hall & John Oates: Our Kind of Soul: Live'' *''David Allan Coe: Live At Billy Bob's, Texas'' *''Dinosaur Jr.: Live in the Middle East'' *''Electric Light Orchestra: Zoom Tour Live'' *''Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows'' *''Farm Aid: 20th Anniversary'' *''Gigantour 1 & 2'' *''Gram Parsons: Return to Sin City'' *''Heart: Alive In Seattle'' *''Kidsongs: Music Video Stories'' *''Kiss: Rock The Nation: Live!'' *''Korn: Live on the Other Side'' *''Mariah Carey: The Adventures of Mimi''v *''Megadeth: That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires'' *''Moody Blues: Lovely to See You: Live'' *''Phil Lesh and Friends: Live at the Warfield Theater'' *''Phish: Bittersweet Motel'' *''Ramones: Raw'' *''Ray Charles: 50 Years in Music'' *''Ringo Starr: The Best Of Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band: So Far'' *''Roy Orbison: A Black & White Night'' *''Sammy Hagar and The Wabos: Livin' It Up! In St. Louis'' *''Selena Live, The Last Concert'' *''Sheryl Crow: Rockin' The Globe Live'' *''The Who: At Kilburn 1977 & Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' *''Yes: YesSongs'' Notes External links * * * Category:Film distributors of the United States Category:Film production companies of the United States Category:Home video companies of the United States Category:Entertainment companies based in California Category:Companies based in Los Angeles Category:AMC Networks Category:American companies established in 1981 Category:Media companies established in 1981 Category:1981 establishments in California Category:American record labels Category:Companies formerly listed on NASDAQ